Religion Minor

The religion minor helps students to cultivate interdisciplinary understandings of the basic practices and beliefs, fundamental texts, historical development, and cultural contexts of the world’s religions. We see religion as one of the most important aspects of human cultures and their relationships with one another, understandings that are essential for becoming an engaged citizen of the world. The academic study of religion involves looking at religious beliefs and practices in a careful, analytic, and objective manner, studying them in their own contexts, and recognizing religion’s intersections with class, gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. The study of religion is an interdisciplinary field, approaching our subject using the disciplines of history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and literature, among others. Just like you don’t need to be an ancient Greek to study ancient Greece, you don’t need to be religious to study religion. You just need to be interested in better understanding how human societies work and interact. A degree in religion from Otterbein University prepares students to apply for a variety of humanities disciplines and professional programs including graduate study in religion and/or theology, law, business, nursing, education, and nonprofit management. Otterbein alums report back that our courses introduce lifelong learning skills, not just in knowledge content, but also in critical thinking and writing, and global interest and ethical notions for one’s personal living.